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benjamin999

Hi. Ive just started sheep farming and we've had a gud few lambs now:). im just wondering about tagging the lambs. Were do i get the tags. Another thing im not sure on is docking the tails. at what age and how long should the tail be when it is docked:) .

Any suggestion would be apprieciated.

Thanks

Username John

benjamin999 wrote: »

Hi. Ive just started sheep farming and we've had a gud few lambs now:). im just wondering about tagging the lambs. Were do i get the tags. Another thing im not sure on is docking the tails. at what age and how long should the tail be when it is docked:) .

Any suggestion would be apprieciated.

Thanks

I just ordered some tags from Mullinahone Co-op. Depending on what you're planing to do with the lambs (send em to factory or keep em for breeding) they'll tell you what tags you need. Honest answer is I am not sure what the deal on what tags to use are...
There are other crowds that sell tags as well, a google would tell you.

I would say though that we used to tag the lambs with 'official tags' a few days after birth, but a lot of the lambs lost the tags. So now we tag em with generic tags, and I'll tag em with official tags later on.

Re docking - I dock using a measure of 3 fingers under the tail, but I'm sure different people have different measures... They should be docked under 7 days as far as I know. We usually dock em around 3 days old, and castrate em the day after if we were doing that. This year as we have early-ish lambs, we're not castrating, as we're hoping to have em all gone early enough... hopefully...

Hope lambing is going / gone well for you. Best o luck with em.

5live

benjamin999 wrote: »

Hi. Ive just started sheep farming and we've had a gud few lambs now:). im just wondering about tagging the lambs. Were do i get the tags. Another thing im not sure on is docking the tails. at what age and how long should the tail be when it is docked:) .

Any suggestion would be apprieciated.

Thanks

As john said, its best not to tag the lambs until you are about to sell as they tend to get them caught in wire and pull them off. They legally have to be tagged at 9 months i think. If they are going to the factory then temporary tags(from an official supplier) will do. Any sheep being kept for breeding must have 2 matching electronic tags, again at 9 months old.
The department of ag website should have a list of suppliers of tags

I dont dock or castrate with rings. I lamb early and most gone by end of july so no problems with maggots. I let the replacements tails long too as my ewes are clean so little risk of maggots and i find it reduces risk of twin lamb but it doesnt suit everyone

blue5000

Well op, I know sfa about sheep, use raddle spray to put the ewe number on the lambs. Use different colours for singles and twins. Makes herding a bit easier, easier to re-unite a lost lamb.

Username John

5live wrote: »

As john said, its best not to tag the lambs until you are about to sell as they tend to get them caught in wire and pull them off. They legally have to be tagged at 9 months i think. If they are going to the factory then temporary tags(from an official supplier) will do. Any sheep being kept for breeding must have 2 matching electronic tags, again at 9 months old.
The department of ag website should have a list of suppliers of tags

I dont dock or castrate with rings. I lamb early and most gone by end of july so no problems with maggots. I let the replacements tails long too as my ewes are clean so little risk of maggots and i find it reduces risk of twin lamb but it doesnt suit everyone

Hi 5live,

What breed of sheep do you have? And what / when do you dose em? We always dock ours, as we find they can get dirty enough in the summer, esp on young grass...
Be interested to hear you manage it.

Thanks,